ENB @ CSD-14; 1-12 May 2006; United Nations Headquarters, New York

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Fourteenth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14)

1-12 May 2006 | United Nations Headquarters, New York

Highlights for Thursday, 11 May 2006

In the morning, the high-level segment continued with ministers engaging in two dialogue sessions, one, with UN agencies, international financial institutions and other relevant organizations, and the other, with Major Groups. In the afternoon, ministers resumed their interactive discussion on “The Way Forward”.They held their second closed meeting before the opening of the official session. Photo: Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Making a difference – Interactive discussions with UN agencies

Ad Melkert, Associate Administrator, UNDP (left), warned that people denied access to energy will not have sufficient resources to achieve the MDGs. Emphasizing the need for inter-agency coordination on energy, Jose Antonio Ocampo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (center) , listed key issues including, inter alia, how different agencies can contribute to promoting energy efficiency and access to electricity. Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said regional commissions are well placed to support coordinated action in areas of policy, access, air quality, health, and institutional capacity.

Richard Kinley, Officer-in-Charge, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said it serves an important role by providing data and support for both adaptation and a carbon market. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said climate change is the third most important cause of biodiversity loss.

Len Good, CEO and Chairman, Global Environment Facility, described instruments with a focus on climate change adaptation tailored for LDCs and SIDS, including a small-grants programme.

R.D.J. Lengoasa, Assistant Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (center), called for adequate support for National Hydrological and Meteorological Services.

Steen Lau Jorgensen, Acting Vice-President of the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network, World Bank (far left), called for efforts to “climate-proof” development because infrastructure, production and institutional decisions taken today will determine vulnerability for many decades.

Arne Walther, Secretary-General, International Energy Forum, highlighted improved access to markets, good governance and adequate policy frameworks. Kiyo Akasaka, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD, outlined work on incorporating adaptation into development cooperation, strengthening energy research, and business guidelines promoting corporate responsibility.

Shafqat Kakakhel, Deputy Executive Director/Officer-in-Charge, UNEP, said the benefits of existing renewable energy technology must be disseminated, and outlined UNEP's role in providing policy support to governments.

In her intervention, Agnes van Ardenne-van der Hoeven, Minister for Development Cooperation, repeated a call for a separate funding window within the World Bank's clean energy investment framework to address the needs of the 1.6 billion people without access to energy, to ensure that emerging markets are not the only beneficiaries.

Making a difference – Interactive discussions with Major Groups

Joji Carino, Tebtebba, speaking on behalf of Indigenous Peoples, called for a moratorium on large-scale energy projects, and said their traditional knowledge is vital to climate impact assessments. Valli Moosa, speaking on behalf of Business and Industry (right), called for a global update on energy efficient technology prior to CSD-15, to support an ambitious energy action plan.

Delegates applaud the statement made on behalf of children and youth.

John Gilliland, the Northern Ireland representative on the UK Sustainable Development Commission, speaking for the UK delegaton at the dialogue with Major Groups (left), announced the launch of the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Strategy. He explained that, with the on going peace process and establishment of new governance arrangements, sustainable development is to be placed at the heart of the new institutions, which include cooperative ties with the Republic of Ireland.John Gagain, Dominican Republic (right), called for a champion for the energy agenda, such as a UN High Commissioner.

Resumed ministerial dialogue on “The Way Forward”

The afternoon session was chaired by CSD Vice-Chair Adrian Fernández Bramauntz, Mexico (left); Nora Delgado, Vice-Minister for Environmental Management, Venezuela (right), rejected the unsustainable capitalist model of development evidenced by consumerism and the demand for oil, and cited the vision of President Chavez for a humanist alternative with shared responsibility for environment between the State and communities. She also described the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, which is pursuing just and democratic exploitation of local resources, and denounced attempts to link oil price rises with worsening poverty, while ignoring thee underlying causes.

Ahmed Babiker Hihar, Minister for Environment and Urban Development, Sudan, said implementation of its plans was hindered by conflict, lack of resources and an unfair and unfavorable international atmosphere.

Highlighting a new air pollution strategy in Europe, Stavros Dimas, EC Commissioner for the Environment, stressed the need for an integrated approach in policy making to make win-win solutions. Yasuyuki Eda, Senior Vice-Minister of the Environment, Japan, linked its economic competitiveness to its energy efficiency after the oil crisis in the 1970s, and called for an effective framework beyond 2012 to promote the greatest possible GHG reduction efforts by major emitters, while enabling countries to undertake countermeasures.

Marcus Bethel, Minister of Energy and the Environment, Bahamas (right), said energy efficiency is implemented through public awareness and education programmes.

Learning Center

Laura Dobriansky, US, during a Learning Center session on "Innovative Energy Financing in Developing Countries", sponsored by USAID

Miscellaneous Photos

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